In the spiritual tradition(s) that I follow, we take responsibility for attracting/creating the conditions of our lives. Sometimes the appropriate responsibility is collective, not individual.
From a scientific perspective, there is no evidence that what we label "war," "starvation" or "torture" exists in any form (for that matter, or more to the point, there is no evidence that "chairs," "people" or "trees" exist either--it is all just stuff that we form into being through consciousness).
In his mandatory book of Toltec wisdom, The Four Agreements, Don Miguel Ruiz describes the common dream thusly, humans dream the "dream of the planet." "The dream of the planet is the collective dream of billions of smaller, personal dreams, which together create a dream of a family, a dream of a community, a dream of a city, a dream of a country, and finally a dream of the whole humanity."
For some time I've been preoccupied with the dream of terrorism that many elements of the world share. I don't share that dream. I believe and espouse that we should act from love rather than fear and that making decisions as a society based on fear is frought.
Then I saw Naomi Wolf interviewed on the Colbert Report on her new book The End of America. (I have long admired Naomi Wolf for her pivotal work, The Beauty Myth.) In the interview I learned that the United States is currently exhibiting all 10 warning signs of (not becoming but) having become a fascist state. This scared the hell out of me.
Ever since I saw this interview (I haven't yet read the book--the link above is an article she wrote in The Guardian--btw, I assume even having the words Naomi Wolf (ding!), fascism (ding!), and The Guardian (ding!) in a blog post has put me on several lists if I wasn't already), I have been semi-obsessed with uncovering signs of our impending fascism. I scan every news article or action (or inaction) by the legislature for such.
And I plan my life accordingly. I kid you not, I literally day-dreamed recently about how soon I should get my family out of the country before I'm arrested as a political prisoner and which country would give us safe harbor and won't it be ironic when the land of the free generates thousands of political refugees?
Yesterday it hit me: by focusing on my fear of fascism, I am every bit as fear-based as the people who focus on their fear of terrorism. Yes, I can be interested in pursuing love-based policies. And yes, I can step up my involvement in the ACLU (ding!), but I do not have to focus on what I'm afraid of. I can focus on what I want.
Let's get back to a common dream of love and freedom. DING?
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